The present invention is a Variable Horizon Predictor that provides a prediction of a controlled process output. More specifically, the Variable Horizon Predictor of the present invention provides a classic feedback loop with properties of a predictive control loop, thereby compensating for dead time and time variant dynamics.
In the control art, traditional or classic feedback controllers dominate control practice. Traditional feedback controllers include linear controllers, such as the proportional (P) controller, the proportional-integral (PI) controller, or the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, and non-linear controllers, such as the fuzzy logic (FL) controller.
However, traditional feedback controllers do not perform well with processes dominated by dead time and processes having time-variant dynamics. In addition, traditional feedback controllers do not perform well with multivariable processes, where interactions exist between the process variables.
Several predictive control techniques have been developed to address the limitations of traditional feedback controllers, but none of these techniques has displaced the traditional feedback controller from its dominant position.